Can Group Based Credit Uphold Smallholder Farmers Productivity and Reduce Poverty in Africa? Empirical Evidence from Kenya

With access to formal credit proving almost impossible to smallholder farmers, group based lending is steadily becoming popular in Africa. However, little is documented on the role of such programmes. In this paper, we employ propensity score matching and endogenous switching regime methods on a sample of 600 smallholder farmers drawn from two agricultural regions in Kenya in 2007. The goal of the survey was to evaluate the economic impact of group based credit programmes on smallholder farmers’ productive performance and poverty reduction in Kenya. Our findings reveal gains with significant impacts of group based credit on incomes in the range of 300 and 480 euros as well as via purchased inputs, with participation in such credit programmes significantly constrained by low literacy levels prevalent among a majority of rural farm households, influence of gender, with female headed households dominating in membership and little participation on the part of male headed households, poor rural access road infrastructure and constraints in group management resulting from lack of cohesion as the group grows in membership. These factors form the key recommendations for policy intervention to achieve sustainability of group based informal lending among farm households in Africa and other similar developing nations.Informal Micro-Finance, Smallholder Farmers, Performance in Kenya, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

What are the Key Constraints in Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Farmers in Africa? Empirical Evidence from Kenya

The idea that smallholder farmers are reasonably efficient has triggered much debate in Sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed, efficiency of smallholder farmers has implications for choice of development strategy; reason being that Sub-Saharan countries derive over 60% of their livelihoods from smallholder agriculture and rural economic activities. This paper evaluates factors that promote production efficiency among smallholder farmers in Kenya as avenues for policy intervention. A production frontier function was fitted to a random sample derived from a survey carried in 2007. Results show that all conventional inputs had the expected significance. On the inefficiency indicators, ownership to farmland, attendance to agricultural workshops, access to credit and participation in self-help groups significantly reduced inefficiency, while age, market distance, female gender and formal education increased inefficiency. Our findings suggest that within the available technologies, farmers can improve on their productivity if they nurture teamwork as in groups where labour is shared. Besides, better roads would reduce transaction costs and promote higher returns, and training in agriculture would boost efficient resources use for better performance. Therefore, there exists opportunity to improve efficiency in production given existing farm technologies.Technical Efficiency, Smallholder Farmers, Africa, Productivity Analysis,

No. 11: The State of Household Food Security in Nairobi, Kenya

This report presents the results of a city-wide household food security survey of 1,434 Nairobi households, conducted by the Hungry Cities Partnership and the University of Nairobi. Among the key findings was that 70% of households in Kenya’s capital experience food insecurity, with one-quarter severely food insecure. As the first city-wide survey of household food security in Nairobi, this report provides researchers and policy-makers with detailed data and information about the overall food security picture, as well as important insights into the operation of the city’s food system. In particular, the report demonstrates the vital importance of Nairobi’s food markets and associated informal food sector. Consumers believe that the informal food economy offers a wide range of products at a cheaper price than formal food outlets. However, the choice of formal or informal food sources depends on perceptions of a range of factors including affordability, variety, flexibility, proximity, convenience, credit facilities, health risks, freshness and quality. The Hungry Cities Food Purchases Matrix shows which kinds of foods are purchased at which outlets, as well as how many households purchase a particular food item. Findings include that informal markets are popular for fresh vegetables, fruits, chicken and fish, while supermarkets are the main source for maize meal, rice, pasta, tinned foods, frozen foods, tea, coffee, sugar and confectionary

Domestic or Foreign Debt? A Choice of no Wrong Selection

This paper reviewed the matter of balance and trade-off between domestic debt and public debt The study sought to underpin the general consensus on the issue of debt and how economic activities were impacted by the various forms of public debt The paper gives an overview of different countries experience with regards to debt sourcing Various authors express various views with regards to this question that do not necessarily bring about points of convergence in ideologies The general point of agreement of specialists who have looked into this subject matter is established at the use of the debt acquired If debt is acquired to facilitate development projects then there is no doubt that such debt will resultantly bring about economic growth and economic development On the other hand there are some governments that do borrow for to finance recurrent expenditure however much that this increases consumption within the economy the desired growth and development is hardly achieved Worse still some of the funds acquired as a result of debt in some nations are squandered and pocketed by few individuals and this is very significant in the retrogressive states of many countries with weak systems that provide no serious check mechanisms as well as accountability and ownership of responsibilit

EXPERIENCES OF STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRATS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES INVOLVING ACCESS TO EDUCATION BY LEARNERS LIVING WITH DISABILITY IN WESTERN KENYA: A CASE OF EDUCATION OFFICERS, SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS

Background: Educations is cited as a basic human right whose access is prime and subject to international scrutiny to ensure standardization. Pro equality policies are thus formulated to ensure access to education. However, there are challenges facing learners living with disability that lead to far reaching implications on the equal access to quality education. It is with this that the study herein reviewed the feedback by various educational stakeholders on factors hindering access to education by learners living with disability with focus on the Kisumu and Siaya Counties in Kenya. Methods: Qualitative research methodology guided this study. A total of 2 education officers, 2 principals and teachers participated in the study. Research data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions sessions. Data analysis was conducted using thematic method. Results: Experiences by given education stakeholders revealed that there are numerous barriers to access to education by learners living with disability. The factors include the lack of decision making capacity and authority for low level stakeholders; lack of awareness on support structures available; lack of community support, cultural stereotypes, inadequate infrastructure and curriculums. Conclusion: The findings cite the need to entrust decision making capacity to low level stakeholders and to allow the incorporation of a bottom up approach or a hybrid approach to decision making with regards to access to education for learners with disability. The aforementioned is key in the seamless implementation of various recommendations.  Article visualizations

No. 21: Inclusive Growth and Informal Food Vending in Nairobi, Kenya

This report presents and analyzes the findings of a city-wide informal food vendors survey conducted by the Hungry Cities Partnership (HCP) in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2019. It builds on, and should be read in conjunction with previous HCP reports on Nairobi: HCP Report No. 6: The Urban Food System of Nairobi, Kenya (Owuor et al 2017) and HCP Report No. 11, The State of Household Food Security in Nairobi, Kenya (Owuor 2018). This report, which is divided into nine sections, provides an up-to-date overview of the informal food sector in Nairobi’s food system. The next section describes the survey methodology and the third section analyzes the demographic characteristics of the sampled food vendors including gender, age, education level, migrant status, and occupations. The fourth section looks at starting an informal food business in terms of the reasons for entering the informal sector, when the business was started, business premises, sources of start-up capital, and business licensing. The fifth describes the types of foods sold, sources of stock, business expenses, net monthly profit, current value of enterprise, family dependence on informal vendor revenue, access to infrastructure and services, and employment creation. Section six is focused on food vendor strategies such as their locational preferences, setting of prices, business strategies, and financial inclusion, while section seven concentrates on operating challenges including competition, and threats to safety and security. Section eight explores the future plans of informal food vendors. The last section presents the summary of findings and conclusions

Testing Market Integration for Fresh Pineapples in Kenya

This paper is based on a survey of thirty-one market actors from producing and consumption markets in Kenya. The data was collected through personal interviews. In analyzing integration of p ineapple markets we use Ravallion-type model. Results show that pineapple market in Kenya is oligopsonistic in nature with aspects of collusion amongst the urban middlemen and local market traders thus barring further entry by oth er potential actors. There was little market integration between urban markets and producing markets, and no integration between the rural producing markets. However, model results show that information flow between production and consumption markets significantly influence market integration, an indicator for efficiency in resource allocation and price transmission which is likely to result in lower transaction costs or higher profits to market actors. The paper recommends for policy intervention to promote information flow in the pineapple market chains as a strategy for improving rural incomes and encourage more market actors to enter and participate for efficiency in the marketing system.marketing Channel, Marketing efficiency, market integration, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

No. 06: The Urban Food System of Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi is a city of stark contrasts. Nearly half a million of its three million residents live in abject poverty in some of Africa’s largest slums, yet the Kenyan capital is also an international and regional hub. In East Africa, rapid urbanization is stretching existing food and agriculture systems as growing cities struggle to provide food and nutrition security for their inhabitants. Nairobi is no exception; it is a dynamically growing city and its food supply chains are constantly adapting and responding to changing local conditions. It is also an international city and the extent to which it is food secure is increasingly predicated on food imports from the regional East African Community and other international sources. Informal traditional value chains have a variety of actors and intermediaries that increase transaction costs and create an inefficient post-harvest procurement network, thereby pushing food products out of the reach of those who need them most. The majority of Nairobi’s food purchases are from informal food vendors. The city’s urban poor rely on the informal food sector for several reasons including that it provides food close to where they live and work, credit and barter are often available, small quantities can be purchased, and many items are sold more cheaply than at formal outlets. The leading income-generating activity for women in Nairobi’s poor communities is selling fruit and vegetables

Determinants of Improved Maize Seed and Fertilizer Use in Kenya: Policy Implications

Maize is a key food crop in Kenya. While maize yields increased from 1.25 t ha-1 in early 1960s to over 2 tonnes in 1982, they fell below 1.5 t ha-1 in 2000. Given the limited land area, there is no doubt that Kenya will have to rely more on modern technologies for increased yields .Use of improved maize varieties and fertilizers will therefore continue to be critical inputs for improving productivity. To improve production, it is important to understand factors determining adoption and intensity of use of modern technologies. A stratified 2-stage sampling design was used to select 1800 households, subsequently interviewed by means of structured questionnaire. Econometric models were used to explore factors influencing adoption and intensity of use of the improved varieties and fertilizer. Access to credit was positively related to adoption and intensity of use of the two inputs. Extension contacts positively influenced the likelihood of adoption of improved maize seed, while amount of planting fertilizer used positively influenced both the adoption and intensity of use of improved varieties. Distance to market negatively determined the adoption and intensity of use of fertilizer. In addition gender and access to hired labour had negative impacts on the intensity of use of fertilizer. There is need to think of alternative sources of credit to farmers and also revamp the existing extension service (including privatization in the long term) for efficient delivery of information.Maize, adoption, improved seed, fertilizer, credit, extension, Kenya, Crop Production/Industries,

Is Value Addition in Honey a Panacea for Poverty Reduction in the ASAL in Africa? Empirical Evidence from Baringo District, Kenya

Using survey data from 110 randomly selected honey producers from two divisions in Baringo this paper analyzes the constraints and drivers of value addition in honey, an economic activity with a potential to improve household livelihoods but whose development has remained rudimentary. Baringo District undergoes frequent and prolonged drought that impacts on household livelihood assets. The livelihoods have traditionally been agro-based but due to variations in climatic conditions, crop production has been very low. Livestock production has also been adversely affected by these trends, leaving honey production as a viable alternative for smallholder farmers since it is less dependent on, or affected by climatic variations and is not resource intensive. This study uses Heckman two stage and the logistic regression models to determine the extent of value addition contingent on the decision of a honey producer to participate in value addition activity, and to assess the link between honey value addition and household poverty status, respectively. The results show that the decision to add value is positively and significantly influenced by the amount of honey harvested, group membership and amount of hours spent on off-farm activities, while it is negatively influenced the age of the farmers and the education level of the household head. Value addition contributes to the reduction of poverty through the improvement of household incomes. This paper concludes measures need to be put in place that would encourage and facilitate the practice of value addition if the welfare of the poor rural population is to be improved.value addition, poverty reduction, drought, ASAL, Africa, Livestock Production/Industries,